Ichi Go, Ichi E One Time, One Meeting
by PurpleHighlights
Summary: Carmelia Ishii has lived in America for her whole life coming to Japan as an exchange student. With two guardian characters and new friends in Seiyo High School, will she be able to gain confidence?  Not good at summaries. Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Welcome to One Time, One Meeting! This is a story including the Shugo Chara characters and a few of my own. OTOM (shortened version of my title) is about a high school freshman, named Carmelia Ishii, who has lived in America for her whole life coming to live in Japan with her relatives. Carmelia is unsure of herself and finds that she has "laid" two guardian character eggs. With her guardian characters and her new friends in Seiyo High School, she may be able to find the confidence that she needs.**

**I don't own Shugo Chara, I only own Carmelia Ishii and her two guardian characters (so far). "Ichi go, ichi e" which means "One Time, One Meaning" is a popular Japanese quote. I also don't own this quote.**

I tapped my finger on the cool screen of my iPod while my other finger twirled my hair idly. I let out a huge sigh, causing a few people to turn and look at me. I gave them a shrug and stood up, dusting imaginary dust off of my jeans before moving to the bathroom, my long legs taking me there quickly. I splashed cool water on my face then looked up at the mirror. I watched as small droplets of water trickled down my face then paused at my chin before plopping into the small sink. A pair of faded green eyes stared back at me. I looked at my hair and groaned. The caramel brown had returned to my hair, claiming my roots. I tugged at my dark purple hair. I needed to re-dye it before school started in a week. I fixed the small black tie and gave myself a white smile as I let it swing before landing just below my chest.

"We are landing soon in Tokyo. Trains and busses will take you to major towns and cities. Taxis are available to take you to smaller towns as well. Hope you enjoyed your flight to Japan."

I wiped the moistness off of my face and swiftly returned to my seat. I bent over to gather my carry on items and felt something slide out of my jacket. I turned to see two objects fall onto my seat with a light plop.

I had almost forgotten about my eggs. Strange huh? Before I fell asleep on the plane a few stops ago, I had prayed to some greater being to help me find myself and find the courage to make new friends in this new country. I awoke to these two eggs on my lap. Both were the size of my palm and were smooth to the touch. One of them was a checkered pattern of black and silver and black. The other one was black with a midnight blue silhouette of a bird with its wings stretched out as if to fly. When I picked them up, they were warm. It freaked me out, but I couldn't scream or anything, after all, I was on a plane.

It might be a prank, but I adored them. I thought they were so cute and they matched me. I pulled the hood of my jacket over my head to hide my pathetic roots. I carefully placed the eggs, rather, _my_ eggs into my pocket and shoving my hands inside as well. That way, I could walk around while holding them, securing them.

Sooner or later, I was in a taxi and I was headed to a nice house in a quiet neighborhood near the mountains. I heard that Japan was beautiful, but I never imagined it to be this breath taking. Even the grand Tokyo. High buildings, pollution and plenty of people walking shoulder to shoulder reminded me of New York City, where I lived last year. Cities like these were unavoidable, but Japan managed to make my claustrophobia disappear and take my breath away.

I stared in awe as the taxi dropped me off. I walked towards the few houses in the neighborhood and looked around. I found the door that said "Ishii" and knocked on the door. I was expecting a thin paper house like in the movies or books. It was like an American house, but of course, everything was in Japanese. At least at my home we spoke in Japanese and such.

My parents weren't big on heritage, after all, they moved across the world to America to get away from it all. But ever since I got a letter from Seiyo High School requesting I come live and study abroad, they couldn't turn it down. And I couldn't wait. My parents especially loved this part: all expense paid. I didn't have to pay for the uniform, books or the trip here. I would only need to pay for food, transportation, and any other things I would like to buy here.

The door swung open and I came face to face to a beautiful woman. Her skin was fair and her eyes were like deep pits, surrounded by thick lashes. She looked at me for a second before a huge pearly white smile erupted on her face. She enclosed me in a huge smile and bounced up and down, ", Caramelia's here from America!" she exclaimed. I smiled back, my arms stuck to my sides due to her tight embrace. I felt the egg in my right pocket shake and I thought for a moment it would hatch, but before Hideki came downstairs, the egg calmed down. Hideki, my uncle, tightened his arms around me, even tighter than my aunt had. Speaking of, what _was _my aunt's name? I've forgotten.

"Oh yeah, sorry Caramelia, you've probably forgotten my name. I'm Akane. Akane Ishii. Akane being my first name as you say in America. In Japan we use the last name."

"Oh I know, Akane-san," I said with a smile and the bow that I practiced with my mom. I bowed deeply, my body making an upside down L.

She patted my back, "Oh Caramelia, you don't need to bow or call me with '-san' at the end. You can just call me Akane."

I nodded and smiled again, "You can call me Lia."

"Lia," she said slowly. I could tell she was trying hard to pronounce the L in my name. Figures, they don't have L's in Japanese, "Dinner is in a few minutes. Your room is upstairs, last door on the right. Ryo's room is on the left, in front of yours."

"Ryo?" I asked, running my fingers through my dark purple hair. Akane and Hideki didn't have a child. Dad would have told me if his brother became a father.

"Hm?" A sleek, dark figure descended down the stairs, his legs were longer than mine, making him at least two inches taller than me. A light skinned hand reached out and grabbed an apple from a fruit bowl. I watched as he brought it to his mouth and made a small bite disappear. His dark eyes met mine, "You say my name?"

He spoke in perfect English. Wow, impressive! I wanted to praise him, but I couldn't.

"Neko got your tongue?" he laughed, enunciating the Japanese word slowly.

I gulped, "Er, I'm Carmelia Ishii."

He ran his fingers through his hair, which looked like a really dark brown color. He gave me a small wave, "I'm Ryo Ishii."

I saw Akane and Hideki sneak out of the room, giving a funny grin. I let my faded green eyes flicker over him, trying to figure him out.

"Liking what you see? Hm, even if you were born in America, I didn't think you were into the incest like those hentai Japanese," he said through a huge teasing grin. Again, his Japanese was enunciated slowly.

I felt my face flush, "N-no!" I spoke in fluid Japanese, "And I didn't know Akane and Hideki had a kid! You must be my age."

He brushed the hair from his eyes, "Calm down, no need to get too defensive. I'm not Akane and Hideki's son. I was adopted last year from California. But I can speak fluent Japanese. But I often speak English. Chicks love it," he winked.

I stared wide eyed as he laughed at my reaction. I saw a slight figure behind him, only four inches or so. It looked just like him, with dark brown hair and huge dark eyes. It had on a camouflaged outfit with a matching bucket hat. I stared at it for a second, and the little figure hid behind Ryo.

Ryo looked behind him, following my gaze and saw the little creature. He then looked at me, shocked, "Wait, so can you see Kon?"

"Who's Kon?" I asked.

He laughed, "You must be clueless, and don't you have one too? Only bearers can see them."

"Who? Bearers of what?"

The small figure named Kon floated up towards me and then spoke to me in a small yet raspy voice, "Guardian Characters."

****Author's Note: Sorry that this was so short (only about 300 words or so). It was just an introduction to the story. The rest of the story will be in Carmelia's point of view and occasionally other people's views. Reviews are very, very welcome.** **


	2. Chapter 2

The small figure named Kon floated up towards me and then spoke to me in a small yet raspy voice, "Guardian Characters."

I stared at him, "Guardian Characters? What are they?"

"Guardian Characters are creatures born of your heart," Kon replied, his voice sounded scratchy, "We are who you would like to be."

I looked at his army getup, "So Ryo wants to be in the army?"

Kon nodded, small tufts of dark brown hair stuck out from under his bucket hat. Ryo rubbed the back of his neck, obviously embarrassed. I let a small smile shine through, "Well, on the plane trip here these two were born," I murmured pulling out the two eggs.

Kon floated up to it and pressed his small ear to the smooth surface of the checkered egg. He looked up, his dark eyes glittering like water in a deep well, "This one's about to hatch soon!"

I looked at Kon, "Soon? How soon?"

"Five days minimum, eight days maximum," he muttered, scratching his chin.

Akane returned downstairs, "Who're you guys talking to?" she asked looking at the space between me and Ryo. I clearly saw the floating creature, but why didn't Akane? Oh right, Ryo said something about only bearers can see them. I stammered, "Uh-um…"

"That's right Ikuto. My suspension ends in five to eight days. Which is good, since Spring Break ends at around that time," Ryo said. I saw that he had pulled his cell phone out and pressed it to his ear. He was talking to someone named Ikuto. Ryo looked up, looking through the screen of his dark hair, "Oh hi Akane, sorry, was I talking too loud?"

Akane waved dismissively, "Oh it's alright. And don't let that suspension happen again, alright?"

I stared at Ryo and noticed a scratch on his cheek and one above his eyebrow. They looked like they were only a few days old. He looked at me and cocked his head to the side, "What are you staring at?"

I flinched as I came back from my dream world, "Oh sorry! Um, why were you suspended?"

He rolled his eyes, brushing his hair from his eyes with his fingers, "Started a fight," he lowered his voice so that only I could hear him, "I Character Changed with Kon and got in a fight with the tough guys in school," he groaned and then let his voice rise again to a normal tone, "They were picking on some freshmen. They think that they can do whatever they want just 'cause they're seniors."

"What year are you?" I asked.

"I'm a junior."

Akane started putting the food on the table, "Caramelia, you're a freshmen right?"

I guess she liked calling me by my full name better, "Um, yeah, I am."

We sat down at the table and ate for an hour. Then we talked and told stories for the next half hour. The food was delicious. Hideki came home with some fish and crab and some vegetables while Akane cooked some rice. Our dinner was sushi, which was amazing. It wasn't the same type of sushi that I bought at the store, this was _real _sushi, from Japan! Afterwards, Akane made some food from her bakery for a small snack. Ryo was pretty quiet during the whole thing and we mostly talked about my life in America. My friends, my parents, what I learned in school. I was always ahead of everyone and Akane told me I'd fit right in at Seiyo High.

"I'm going to the bath," Ryo muttered under his breath as he stood up. The chair behind him squealed in protest. He stalked off to the bathroom and I finished up my last might of bread.

"Caramelia, you can bathe after Ryo. Do you know how to bathe in Japan?" Hideki asked.

I nodded. I wasn't stupid. I had read some instructions online. The bath was usually used to just relax and unwind before bed. I had to shower before entering the bath. It sounded a bit strange in the beginning, but it was alright to me. I nodded, "Alright, thank you Hideki-san."

"You can call me Hideki," he said stuffing some more bread into his mouth.

Akane started to pile the dirty plates. I extended my arm to take them from her so I could wash them for her, but she shook her head, "Oh Caramelia, don't worry about it. Go to your room and unpack. Ryo should be done in a half hour. If he doesn't come out, knock on the glass door."

A glass door? See through? I shook my head, shaking away the wrong thoughts in my head. Ryo must be rubbing off on me. I nodded, "Alright, I will," I said as I took two steps at a time to reach the door.

When the door swung open, I was greeted by light cream colored walls with light pink cherry blossoms drawn on. The brown branches stretched across the walls and ended by the windows. The pink blossoms feathered the walls. There wasn't a futon like I had expected. Then again, I expected a paper house. This house seems to be more of a westernized place. Instead, there was a king sized bed that matched the colors of the wall. Dark wood held up the soft yet firm mattress. Four comfortable pillows decorated the bed. There was a bookshelf empty except for a few empty notebooks and school textbooks and workbooks.

"Lia, I'm done."

I jumped up from the bed, startled, "Whaa?" I exclaimed. I looked up and saw Ryo, "What are you doing here?"

"It's my house as well Lia. I'm done with my bath. You can go now," he said laughing. He looked around, "Like it?"

I nodded, "It's beautiful!"

I swore I could have seen a bit of blush on his face, "I painted it."

"Yep, he sure did," rasped Kon. The small character was strutting on the dresser. Jumping up and hiding behind my items as if they were shields in war.


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm trying to update at least once every other day so I don't lose my writing streak. Here's chapter three! **

I grabbed my pajamas and the towel that was folded neatly on my bed, "Well, I'm gonna go," I said as I walked out. I heard Ryo grunt in response and then he shuffled out of my room and into the room in front of mine.

As I laid in the bath, the water unwinding the stress of the plane trip, I let my mind wander. I thought about everything. Life, death, friends, family, I thought of almost everything. Especially those Guardian Characters. I opened one of my eyes and saw the faint outline of my dark eggs. Five to eight days. My checkered egg will hatch around the same time I come into school. I wonder what he'll look like. Or maybe it'll be a girl, after all, I am of the feminine species (last time I checked anyway…). I reluctantly stepped out of the bath, the water dripping from my body and dotting the floor beneath me. I quickly ran the towel over me and then squeezed the water from my hair. I checked the sky. Dark. It was too late for me to blow dry my hair. I didn't know what kind of neighborhood I lived in, and if they would accept the roar of my dryer at this time.

I plopped onto my bed and closed my eyes. Sleep came slowly and morning crept up all too soon. Before I knew it, eight days have passed and school was in a few minutes.

"Caramelia! You're going to be late!"

I shot out of bed, my hair sticking up in a few points. I quickly brushed it and pulled on my red, black and white uniform. I smoothed my skirt down with my hands and tugged on my blazer, fixing the red tie. I threw the brown satchel bag over my shoulder (which is a lot different from the backpacks used in America. This would need some taking used to). I nibbled on a piece of toast and was almost out of the door when I heard Ryo behind me.

"Hey Lia, what's with your roots?"

My hand found its way to my head and I stared in shock. I had forgotten to dye it! I can't go to school like this! I checked the clock, shoot! School started in ten minutes! If I skipped dying it, I would just make it before the gates close. But then I'd be the laughing stock with this messed up hair. I had some dye in my bag. Akane and Hideki had left for the bakery so I could dye my roots quickly. That would take at least fifteen minutes. Then I'd have to wash it out…

"Well, I'm headed off to school. I won't mention you, alright? Maybe the teachers will forget," Ryo laughed, waving as he walked away. Kon was following behind him, bouncing up in the air as he floated along.

I ran up the stairs and brought out the bottle of dark purple dye. After mixing it up, I applied it to my roots. I waited until my timer went off and then quickly washed it up. There was some purple dye on my forehead because I was in such a hurry. I groaned and did something that I would have never done in my entire life in America.

One time, on meeting. I have one shot to erase that shy girl and replace it with an outgoing girl. I grabbed the scissors and snipped my long hair away. It now fell to the middle of my back, large choppy layers claimed the once straight hair of mine. I was surprised it had looked so good. Perhaps all those years I spent watching Mom cut hair rubbed off on me. And of course, full bangs covering the purple dye on my forehead. I shook my head like a dog out of a bath to get rid of any excess hair and grabbed my bag and ran off.

Seiyo High School. It was _HUGE_! It looked like a castle. But the castle's gate was shut and I couldn't get it. Apparently they didn't accept late students. I groaned again and stomped my feet like a toddler. This wasn't FAIR!

Something shook in my pocket, startling me. I pulled it out to see my checkered egg. I saw thin lines cracking it across the middle. It was hatching! I was frozen as I watched the top pop off and a small figure emerged.

It was the same size of Kon, or rather, she was the same size. She was in a completely black outfit, covering her from head to toe. The only open spot was where her eyes and nose was were, there was a slit in the fabric, giving her room to see and breathe. Her eyes were a dark red shade and her hair was down to her waist and a pitch black color as well. I gasped as she floated around me, evaluating me.

"Caramelia?" she asked. Her voice was smooth and was low like a whisper.

I stared at her, "Y-yeah?"

"I'm Nin. I'm your would-be self," she declared, her eyes sparkling.

"Nin?" I asked. Then I crossed my arms over my chest, "Well, can you help me get into school without anyone noticing?"

She smiled, I could see a gleaming white smile through the black fabric, "Character Change!" she exclaimed.

Wait, what's a Character Change? Ryo said something about that… he said he Character Changed with Kon and got into a fight. Wait! I didn't want to get into a fight! That would draw a crowd to me, not make me invisible! Then right in the middle of my scattered thoughts, I felt something come over me. As if a new personality has taken over. All of a sudden, a veil covered me. I looked at myself through the glass reflection. I had on a ninja headband. Where did that come from?

"_Come on Caramelia. Just jump up the wall and run across to get to the back of the school. No one's there and you can say you came from the bathroom," _Nin whispered in my mind.

This was _really_ weird. Before I knew it, I had jumped up the wall (which was a good six feet) and ran across the thin top and reached the back of the school. I entered the school building without anyone being there to spot me. Then I felt Nin jump out of me, and the headband was gone. I checked my pocket. My other egg was still there. I looked at Nin, "What was that?"

"When a certain situation comes, I can Character Change with you. That will allow you to reach the part of you that's like me. So when we Change, you become a sly girl who can sneak around and not be seen. You also have attacks, but I'll get into that later," she said simply, dusting off her shuriken.

"Wait, attacks?" I exclaimed/asked.

"Hey, is that the new transfer student?"

"She seems new. Who is she talking to? Don't tell me she's like those other kids in that club," another voice responded.

I looked up, "Um, hi. I'm Caramelia Ishii. I'm the transfer student."

The second voice looked embarrassed, she whispered to the first girl, "Looks like she understands and speaks Japanese. What if she heard what I said?"

The first girl rolled her eyes, "Well, to be frank, I'm part of that club you're talking about. And we're not crazy. We're talking to-" she paused, "Err, never mind."

I looked at the first girl. She had pink hair that fell right on her shoulders. A small part of her hair was sticking up with an 'X' clip on it. Her uniform looked like everyone else's, but she wore plaid knee-socks and a red band on her arm. Behind her were… one, two, three, four, wow, four! She had four Characters. She narrowed her honey colored eyes at me, then it flickered to my pocket, where my egg was slightly poking out. I saw her eyes widen and I saw a small smile on her face, "Who are you?"

I inwardly groaned. I didn't like her attitude. I forced a smile, feeling Nin hover over my shoulder, "I'm Ishii Caramelia, first year. And you?" I stuck my hand out for her to shake.

She reluctantly grabbed onto my hand, "I'm Hinamori Amu, first year."

I looked for the other girl that was talking, but she had already disappeared. I saw Amu look around. I followed her gaze and saw no one was around. She took a step closer to me, "You have Guardian Characters?"

I froze up, no one has talked to me about this except for Ryo. Speaking of Ryo, where was he?

Nin floated up to Amu's face, "Yes, I'm Nin, Caramelia's would-be self. She has one more egg. It seems that you have four Characters."

Amu looked shocked, "U-uh yeah."

A small pink figure waved her pom poms, "I'm Ran!"

A blue character shyly said, "Miki."

"Suu!" exclaimed a green figure.

A yellow character smiled wide, "I'm Dia."

Nin gave them a slight nod, "Nice to meet you." I noticed she didn't offer a handshake. Perhaps Nin was a bit shy and reserved like me.

Amu tapped a finger on her lips, thinking. She then looked at me, "Come to this address," she pulled on my hand and forced it open. She pulled a pen from out of nowhere and then started to scribble an address onto my hand. The ballpoint pen dug into my palm and tickled me. I bit my lip to refrain from laughing. When she was done, she looked at me, "This is another first year's house. His name is Tadase-kun. We all have characters as well. There's at least one student in each year that has one."

I looked at the scrawled handwriting on my hand, "Uh, okay."

The bell rang for lunch so I grabbed the money from my pocket and followed Amu to the cafeteria. She invited me to sit with her table where all the "bearers" sat. She told me all their names, but I wasn't really listening. I only heard Ryo's name and Ikuto.

Which reminded me of when Akane heard us talking to Kon. Ryo picked up his phone and pretended to talk to this guy named Ikuto. I didn't know who he was, but apparently he was a real person. I saw Amu blush a bit at the mention of Tadase and Ikuto. Did she have a crush on them? Did she blush when she said Ryo? I wasn't paying attention.

I took a seat and saw a bunch of people before me. Different colored eyes stared at me. Red eyes from a blonde kid, a honey colored glare from another long haired blonde girl, a dark blue gaze from a blue haired boy and green eyes from a brown haired boy. Only Amu and Ryo didn't pay much attention to me.

"Hello, I'm Hotori Tadase," said the red-eyed boy. His head moved to the side and a few strands of hair moved along with him. He seemed to be glittering along with his smile. I gave an awkward smile back.

"Soma Kukai," said the green-eyed, brown haired boy. His hair was about the same color as my hair before it was dyed. I brought my hand up to my roots. Nin whispered in my ear, "Don't worry. It's dyed."

"Mashiro Rima," muttered the long haired blonde girl. She glared at me, her eyes the same color as Amu's.

Amu cleared her throat and then pointed to the blue-haired boy who was moving his lunch around with his finger, obviously not hungry, "Tsukiyomi Ikuto." He looked up as she said his name then offered a small wave. He was just like Ryo.

Ryo laughed softly before biting Akane's bread, "Caramelia knows who I am already."

"I'm Caramelia Ishii," I said.

"She loves me," Ryo said calmly.

"W-wh-what? That's not tr-true!" I stammered.

Ikuto started to laugh as well. He turned slightly to Amu, "Caramelia seems to be in denial. Does that sound familiar?"

Amu stared at him, a dark red blush claiming her face, "H-huh? No, no way Ik-Ikuto!"

I looked down. It was obvious Amu liked Ikuto. If I sounded like that, it must be obvious to everyone that I liked Ryo. I was shocked at the thought of it. I haven't really confessed that I sort of liked him. He was good looking. I saw him look at me, "You're blushing. You do love me," he said in English.

The whole group stared in awe as Ryo spoke in a "new" language. I blushed even harder, "No way in hell!" I exclaimed in English, "Why would you even think that?"

The group was looking at me and Ryo, thinking hard. They were probably trying to figure out what we were saying. I have to admit, having Ryo and I as the only ones knowing English made it easy to have private conversations. Ryo shrugged but kept a huge smile on his face. He leaned over to Ikuto and whispered something really fast. No one else seemed to have caught what he said, but by the way Ikuto was smirking, I could tell Ryo had translated our small conversation. I blushed as I finished up my lunch, listening as the people around me chatted about various things.

"Um, so Ishii-san," started Tadase.

"Oh, you can call me Caramelia. Or Lia," I interrupted.

"Oh, um, is that okay? I mean, we just met. I don't want to be formal," he replied.

"It's alright. You don't need to be formal. I'm not a princess or anything," I laughed.

The group sat upright, their posture suddenly rigid. A small crown appeared on top of Tadase's head and his gaze suddenly became fiery red. My green eyes flickered from side to side. What was going on? The group cast nervous glances at me.

Oh great. What did I do?

**Author's Note: Yay! So Caramelia (I keep typing her name as Carmelia instead, so I may change it later on) has just met the group. I know I left out Nagi, but I'll put him in later on. Oh, and I know Ikuto should be in college, but I'm making him a senior. This was my longest chapter ever. 5 pages and around 2,000 words. Don't forget to review! Also, I only got up to episode 60-something on Shugo Chara so if some things are incorrect or I'm missing stuff: I'm sorry!**


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